Thursday, May 19, 2011

I'll bet they read xkcd

A commenter has pointed out that it is no longer possible to ride around and around and around on the Circle Line. Since 2009 (always the last to know), the line has been reconfigured: trains now go in a clockwise direction to Hammersmith, then loop back counterclockwise.

4 comments:

Helen,Sorry to be off topic again, but there will be a movie you should have a look at, when it'll be available, they're gonna make it available through dvd or something - it's a "Passion Play", by Mitch Glazer.Whoever this guy is, it's rare to get such stupid subject and such a masterpiece, especially these days.

And a, uhm, regarding movies, this Weir's one was good, too, if you ask me :P

I am pleased to report this is not entirely true. Once the Circle Line train reaches Edgware Road, it pulls into Platform 2, marked "CIrcle Line via Victoria" (and implying that it will thereafter reverse all the way to Hammersmith.

But this is overridden by a platform announcement confirming that the next stop is Baker Street. The Circle Line thereafter trundles onward in a complete loop.

I have a feeling that this might only happen on a few Circle Line trains, because obviously they want to keep more running on the loop section than on the less-used Hammersmith branch.

You'll be delighted to know that Aldgate's delicately-wrapped soap and anchor-festooned handtowel themed columns are still in place.

Secondhand Sales

The Last Samurai was published in 2000 by Talk Miramax Books. First Talk went under, then Harvey Weinstein split from Disney and Miramax Books handed its books over to Hyperion, then Hyperion dwindled and handed the books back to Miramax who were not, in fact, interested in publishing books.

For a decade of the Miramax Wars readers faced a dilemma. They sometimes want to buy copies of The Last Samurai for friends. It was tempting to buy the book "As New" for $1.70 + $3.99 postage rather than for $14.95 with free shipping in an order of $20 or more, especially if there were many, many friends. The author got nothing on a secondhand sale -- but then, the author would get only $1.12 on the new book. To send the author $1.12 the reader would have to pay an extra $9.24. That's a pretty expensive goodwill gesture.

Goodwill doesn't have to cost that much. PayPal takes 30 cents + 3% on each transaction; if you send the author $1.50 by PayPal she will get $1.15. Many readers sportingly sent a donation - some were insanely generous, all went far beyond the call of duty.

Miramax has now given up on the hassle of dealing with distributors and such. It has reverted the rights to the author. So even if you want a new copy you can't get one until a new publisher takes the book on - it's secondhand or nothing. More than ever, we're grateful for the kindness of strangers.

i+e

John Chris Jones' The Internet and Everyone can be bought for £10: write to jcj AT publicwriting.netJCJ's website has a selection of reviews of this pioneering book.

Berlin

Linguistics

Greek, Latin

RhapsodesSociety for the Oral Reading of Greek and Latin: has recordings of Homer, Pindar, many others.

PerseusExtensive body of Greek and Latin texts in the original languages and in translation; offers ability to click on a word for a definition, grammatical information. Also has lexica, grammars, various other resources. NB: the texts are generally editions that are out of copyright rather than modern versions, so the reader is for the most part offered texts reflecting the state of scholarship at the end of the 19th century. The texts also have no apparatus criticus. So it is a useful resource, but one to be used with caution.